his breath coming in sharp gasps. At last, unable to go another step, he sank down in the midst of some brushwood, let Si slide from his shoulder, and went off in a temporary faint for the want of breath.
The natives had seen them enter the jungle and now started in pursuit. But underneath the dense trees it was totally dark and soon they had to come to a halt. Torches were lit, and they set about finding the trail of the Americanos. They were Negritos—the native name for Little Blacks—belonging to that tribe which inhabits nearly the entire northern portion of Luzon. They were small in stature, thin and bony, with high cheek bones and faces which were peculiarly cold and bloodthirsty. This tribe of Negritos number about twenty-five thousand, and they have been aptly called by students of ethnology the primitive men of the Philippines. In intelligence they are not above the better-known Australian bushmen. That they were at one time cannibals has been settled beyond a doubt.
